Cast trimming continues behind the scenes on The Young and the Restless. Julia Pace Mitchell confirms that she's been dropped to recurring status. She joined the show in 2010.

Though fans will argue whether or not it's technically a firing, Julia Pace Mitchell (Sofia Dupre Winters) has been downgraded to recurring status with The Young and the Restless. The actress is, however, taking her status change in stride.

"I'm so happy to be here," Mitchell told Soaps In Depth. "This show has changed my whole life. It's really cool. These are some of the hardest working actors in show business."

Being bumped doesn't necessarily mean that viewers have seen the last of Sophia. Tracey Bregman (Lauren Fenmore) has been on recurring status with Y&R for more than a decade.

So what's the difference? Actors under contract receive "guarantees" that give them a promised salary regardless of how often they work. Recurring players are paid for each episode that they work. In essence, a contract player who isn't seeing a lot of airtime maybe be costing the show money because they are getting paid for episodes in which they're not appearing.

Even if she doesn't get another Y&R scene, Mitchell has something else to fill her time. The actress is starting a hair care company.

"It's a jojoba oil-based company," Mitchell explained. "I'm doing workshops in Dayton so people can go to www.JuliaPaceMitchell.com to learn about acting, hair care and what it takes to work in this business!"